“King Kai” Stewart of Great Falls, Bare Knuckle Reigning Champ

You came to Miami and beat the hometown kid. That's what they told "King Kai" Stewart after his Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship victory where he retained his title.

I missed the BKFC fight Friday night, but on Saturday night at the Fusion Fights "Under the Lights," Kai Stewart and his coach Dave Evans with Flow State Athletics got a big shoutout in the octagon in Missoula, Montana.

As Tom Wylie reports for MontanaSports.com: "The Great Falls native defended his Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship featherweight world title at BKFC 62 in Hollywood, Florida, on Friday night by unanimous decision (49-44, 49-44, 49-44) over Bryan “El Gallo” Duran."

The 24 year old fighter was nothing but praises for his home state of Montana during the post fight press conference. He made it clear- he wants to see the world, but he also wants to bring a championship fight to Big Sky Country.

Kai Stewart: "I would love to use this sport to travel. I want to use this sport to see the world. I'm a small town kid from Montana just living his dream...Yeah, I would love to get a fight in my hometown again, just because I feel like I've earned it. Montana has earned it. We have a lot of dogs up in that part. So, I know we could fill a card, and I know that we could sell out even a different city, but Montana deserves it."

Stewart was asked by one of the attendees at the press conference about being the "king of Montana."

Kai Stewart: "Montana, we're slept on as a state. You know, there's not a lot, there's not a lot up there in terms of people that make it out, but there is a lot of heart, and there's a lot of people really grinding to make their living. They make an honest living up there, and now I'm making an honest living...Montana is the Last Best Place on Planet Earth. Shout out to everyone who was up there cheering me on."

He also gave a shout out to his coach, Dave Evans- who was on hand as a referee for the Fusion Fights in Missoula the following night.

Click here for the full post fight press conference (*warning- language).

https://watch.bkfc.com/videos/bkfc62_hollywood_post_presser?search_result=true&title=BKFC+62+HOLLYWOOD+POST-EVENT+PRESS+CONFERENCE